Trudeau says Poilievre’s comments on electric vehicle tariffs are ‘nonsense’ as industry awaits decision – National
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attacked a promise by the Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre to increase tariffs on Chinese products electric vehicles 100 percent, but Trudeau did not respond when asked why his government did not act sooner to introduce a surtax.
“It’s a bit of a joke that Pepper “We’re suddenly talking about workers in the industry,” Trudeau said during a funding announcement for the electric vehicle industry in eastern Ontario on Monday.
“For Poilievre to suddenly turn around and say, ‘Oh, we’re worried about electric vehicles,’ that’s a load of rubbish. He’s looking for a political angle. Because that’s all he does,” the prime minister said.
Trudeau also said that if Poilievre were elected, he would cut investment in Canada’s electric vehicle industry, a sector that continues to receive huge government subsidies.
“It would reduce our investment in electric vehicles and in building an extraordinary electric vehicle supply chain in Canada, which is what we are doing as a government,” the Prime Minister said.
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The Liberal government is considering imposing U.S.-matching tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, saying a decision will be made “soon” and that “it is clear that action is needed, such as a surcharge.”
The Biden administration raised tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles from 25% to 100% last May. The Ontario government and Canada’s auto industry have urged Ottawa to follow suit. The Finance Department concluded a 30-day consultation process earlier this month.
Last week, Poilievre called for a 100 per cent tariff hike, as well as higher levies on Chinese steel and aluminum. He also accused Trudeau of “doing nothing” to protect Canadian workers from an increasingly aggressive China.
“They are doing this to crush our steel, aluminum and auto production and steal our jobs. Trudeau has failed to protect our workers from this economic predation,” the Conservative leader said at a Hamilton steel mill.
Trudeau said he has been working “for many months” to ensure that “Canada’s advantage in electric vehicles remains” and criticized Poilievre’s electric vehicle strategy.
“The fact that Poilievre is jumping in front of the parade – or trying to – is just ridiculous,” he said.
The prime minister made the remarks during a funding announcement in Napanee, Ontario, where Goodyear CanadaOttawa and Ontario have pledged more than half a billion dollars to modernize a plant producing tires for electric vehicles.
A report released last June by the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) estimates that the federal and provincial governments have injected up to $52.5 billion into the sector.
Last March, Canada reached an agreement with Volkswagen to pay $13.2 billion in subsidies for batteries produced at a future plant in St. Thomas, Ontario.
Stellantis then sought a similar deal for a plant it is building in Windsor, Ontario, and ultimately landed a $15 billion deal.
THE BPO He said it may take until 2043 for Ottawa and Ontario to reach the break-even point on the two battery contracts.
The subsidies for the two plants are meant to mirror incentives offered by the United States under the Inflation Reduction Act, a law passed in 2022 that provides for significant investments in the green economy.
— with documents from The Canadian Press
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
